After venting his earlier frustration and fear, the Third Hokage finally calmed down.
He shot Danzo a sidelong glance and shook his head with a cold smile.
"Hah! Me? Take on Mito-sama again? Not a chance."
"If you think it's such a good idea, why don't you try it yourself?"
He leaned forward. "In fact, I regret going myself. I should've sent you. No—dragged you with me."
Danzo's expression twitched. His eyes shifted. "That won't be necessary," he muttered quickly. "Really… there's no need to test it further. Just… go with what she said."
"But!" His tone turned cautious. "About the weekly opportunity to 'guide' Uchiha Ren and Kushina... shouldn't that be left to—"
He suddenly stopped.
The Third Hokage was looking at him with that too-familiar glint in his eyes.
Danzo narrowed his own.
"Hiruzen… you're trying to throw me under the bus again, aren't you?"
"That look—you always wear it when you're about to have me take the fall!"
He had seen it too many times to be fooled.
"This 'guidance' job… it's a trap, isn't it? If it goes well, you take the credit. If it backfires, I'm the scapegoat!"
Danzo quickly pieced it together. If Uzumaki Mito found out, she'd shred him alive.
"Come on, Danzo! You're overthinking this!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said, waving it off. "Didn't you always say your brainwashing techniques were unparalleled?"
"Didn't you beg me for Ren Takashi before? Well, here's your chance!"
Danzo didn't budge. "You want me to do the dirty work while you sit back and reap the rewards. Not happening!"
"And you, Hokage-sama, are far more skilled than I am in sweet talk and manipulation."
With that, Danzo turned on his heel and stormed out, ignoring Hiruzen's calls.
"Tch… coward," Hiruzen muttered, watching Danzo disappear down the street below.
"Useless. I wanted to ask him how the recipe theft was going too... Whatever. If he dares make a move on Ren or Kushina, he'll just dig his own grave."
The Next Morning
Ren created several shadow clones to manage his daily routine—medical training with Tsunade, sealing lessons with Mito, and group training with Minato and the others.
The original body, meanwhile, headed to the Academy.
He didn't notify his clones ahead of time. Instead, he quietly sat down, flipping through a sealing scroll.
Before long, the classroom bell rang.
The homeroom teacher walked in—alongside Kushina Uzumaki.
Introductions followed.
When Kushina boldly declared her dream of becoming the first female Hokage, the mocking began immediately.
"Hahaha! You? Hokage?"
"With that tomato-colored hair?"
"She even looks like a tomato! Red face, red hair—bahaha!"
Suddenly, silence fell.
Ren was standing in front of the loudest boys, his gaze cold and his aura oppressive.
"Go on. Keep talking."
The boys froze.
Ren Takashi—the undisputed prodigy of the Academy. Even upperclassmen who'd tried to challenge him ended up humiliated.
"I'll make it clear," Ren said, his voice low but firm. "Kushina is my teacher's younger sister. That makes her my little sister."
"Anyone who dares bully her, mock her… they'll answer to me. Got it?"
"Y-Yes! We understand!"
Their eyes shifted, now filled with awe—and a bit of fear—as they looked at Kushina.
Meanwhile, the girls' gazes grew colder. Envy. Jealousy.
Ren noticed, but said nothing.
The teacher cleared his throat. "Ren, back to your seat please."
Even he couldn't hide his bias.
Kushina stepped off the platform and made her way directly to the empty seat beside Ren.
"Thank you, Ren-nii!" she whispered with a smile.
"Haha, don't mention it," Ren grinned. "Let me introduce my friends—Minato, Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza. We train together."
Kushina greeted them warmly.
Minato looked at her twice—then looked away. The hint of attraction faded from his eyes.
He understood.
Ren noticed too and silently smiled.
A true friend. He won't betray a brother over a girl.
After School
"Come on, I'll take you to our training spot," Ren said, holding out a hand.
Kushina took it without hesitation.
Minutes later, they arrived at the riverside clearing.
The others were already training hard.
"Everyone's so serious…" Kushina murmured.
"Of course," Ren replied. "We train so that when the time comes, we can protect what matters."
Kushina paused, touched by his words. But she didn't yet understand them fully.
Ren didn't expect her to—not yet.
Still, she joined him and watched as he resumed his own training.
Evening—Sihai Restaurant
"To celebrate Kushina's enrollment, let's eat out!" Ren declared.
"Agreed!"
"Yeah!"
The group headed to Sihai Restaurant, the place Ren had co-founded.
"Wow! So many people!" Kushina gasped. "It's packed!"
"Of course," Choza boasted. "Ren provided the recipes. But honestly, his cooking's even better than what they serve here!"
"Really?" Kushina looked at Ren, wide-eyed. "You're amazing!"
Ren simply smiled and led them to their private room.
—
Soon, the manager—Nara Anji—entered with the head chef, Tanaka.
"Ren-kun," Anji said, "Chef Tanaka's been feeling unwell. Since you've been studying medicine under Lady Tsunade, could you take a look?"
Ren nodded and beckoned Tanaka over.
As he took Tanaka's pulse, he asked some simple questions.
Soon, his brow furrowed.
Physically, Tanaka was fine. But his spirit… His mind had been tampered with.
Someone had invaded his thoughts and forcibly read his memories.
Someone's been spying on us, Ren thought grimly. And they tried to cover their tracks… but not well enough.